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Traditional dress of Palestine

The traditional dress of Palestine varies in the urban Palestinian community to villagers and the indigenous Bedouin people. The women normally wear coats and shirts with broad trousers and use a thin veil to hide their faces. Modesty reflects from the traditional Palestinian dress because the Christian Palestinian women wear descent western dresses and the Palestinian Muslim women are usually seen in Hijab and Abaya. The traditional men’s clothing in Palestine is quite similar to other Arabian nations and their outfits are loose and hanging till feet like the traditional Thawb. The traditional Palestinian woman’s long tunic is also called thawb. The Men’s thawb is also same like the Egyptian galabia.

Palestinian people in traditional dresses - Image: arwayi

Palestinian costumes reflected differences in the physical and social mobility enjoyed by men and women in the different classes of Palestinian society. The women of the Northern Palestine used to wear a bright colored coat few centuries ago but later it was replaced by Qambaz having long sleeves and side slits. They used narrow trousers that were embroidered on the lower parts.

Palestinian girl showing the traditional sloth - Bissane's photo

Thawbs and Jillayeh were the traditional female dresses of the Southern Palestine. These v-necked dresses are normally of black and white colors having tighter sleeves. The Bedouin women of Palestine loved to wear the dresses with red and blue colored embroidery along the hems and seams and around the neck. The embroidery tradition in Palestine is popular since the Ottoman era and the motifs were derived from basic geometric forms such as squares and rosettes. Large blocks of intricate embroidery were used on the chest panel to protect the vulnerable chest area from the evil eye, bad luck and illness.

The veil was an important ingredient in the traditional Palestinian dress for women. The other traditional headdresses included Hattah and Zurband and in some parts a tarbush shaped hat was also popular that was covered in coins and it was named as Shatweh.

A beautiful Palestinian girl in traditional-headdress - Image by Seeds_of_Peace

The Palestinian men used to wear a variety of overcoats like Farwah (Sheepskin jacket) and Jibbeh or Abaya (broad cloaks). Similarly many types of headwear were also common among the Palestinian men like Taqiyeh and Tarbush Istanbul. The Keffiyeh has been worn by the Arabs but its prominence increased in Palestine also when it was adopted by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

A Palestinian man wearing the Arab scarf - Image: Abeer Hoque

The traditional dress of Palestine was significant in the Arab region for tremendous embroidery and being mostly the handcrafted garments. The variation in the geography was also reflected in the traditional clothing, e.g., the nomadic life-style was reflected in the traditional Bedouin costumes.